Mary Woods teased her hair minutes before she was to go on stage for the talent portion of the third annual Inland Empire Zombie Beauty Pageant on Sunday night in Redlands, Calif.

It was Woods' third attempt to take home the title at the event sponsored by Forbidden Panel, an independent publishing company and event coordinator specializing in graphic novels, comic books, and multimedia, to crown the most sought-after Zombie-fied beauties in the area.

“I just love it. It is so fun,” Woods said as she took a quick break from caring for her hair. “I love reuniting with the girls from previous years, and meeting new friends ... to get gory and gross.”

Woods was among 10 women after the crown, which was to be awarded by last year's winner, Jasmine Garcia.

Garcia's year-long reign was recognized with a slide show after the 10 ladies graced the stage in an opening number that mixed Michael Jackson's “Thriller” with Metallica's “Enter Sandman.”

While staying in character as Betty Bites, Garcia sat chained to a chair as she was viewed the pageant unfold under the careful watch of the ever-present Zombie Kill Squad, snarling at contestants as they were escorted to their holding cells.

“There's a lot of great talent out here,” Garcia remarked. “I'm excited to get to watch the show this time around.”

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More than 400 people turned out to see this year's pageant, which had three categories — talent, swimsuit and evening wear.

The crowd showed its support for their favorite contestants by hooting and hollering for the ones they wanted to win.

Once the competition was complete, ticket holders were asked to place their votes in ballot boxes.

Krickett Dortch, as “Myra Mains,” received the most votes.

As the pageant got underway, a humbled AJ Herrera, who founded the pageant, said he was a bit overwhelmed by the turnout, but was happy to see the event grow.

Because attendance shot up — 300 attended the 2012 pageant — Herrera said they may have to seek a new venue next year.

Herrera, the founder and editor-in-chief of Forbidden Panel, called the large turnout “creepy”.

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